How To Reach Vienna

Vienna, the stunning ancient city, which also happens to be the capital of Austria, is situated on the banks of the River Danube. With its majestic palaces, beautiful theatres, old streets and a contemporary-cum-gothic old world culture, Vienna has been on tourist radar for a while now. Most people want to visit Austria and Vienna especially to enjoy its architecture and splendour and today, it is quite easy to reach Vienna. Here’s your road map.

The Vienna International Airport is located 18 km away from the city centre, making for a very convenient option for those flying in. From India, tourists have loads of frequent and direct flights. Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad - all have flights to Vienna on a regular basis, with stopovers in Middle-East mostly. The carriers plying include British Airways, Air India, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa etc.

Austria is in the heart of Europe, so you can imagine how easy and convenient it would be to drive into the country from anywhere in Europe. Vienna, being the capital, is blessed with great connectivity from everywhere. Eurolines and Eurolines Austria are two very famous services for international and domestic buses coming into the country. Vienna has two main bus terminals - Vienna International Busterminal (VIB) and Waldmanngrônden. Mostly buses come in from countries like Czech Republic, Bratislava and Hungary. Driving into Vienna in a car may not be a great choice as public parking in the city is restricted to 120 minutes, and that too from 9:00 to 22:00, Monday to Friday.

The Austrian rail network is a very efficient system, on top of being reliable and comfortable. Vienna also happens to be the major central and terminus for many trains from within and outside the country. You can easily come to Austria on a train from European cities like Venice, Munich, Prague, Budapest etc. Other countries like Greece, Germany, Slovakia etc are also well connected via the Euro Night Line and RailJet trains.

Vienna is located on the bank of Danube River, which makes it easy to reach by boats, yachts, ferries and catamarans from other points on the same river - viz a viz, Bratislava, Linz, Budapest etc. The journey may be slow and slightly boring, but it is cheaper in comparison and you get to enjoy the languid pace of the river.

Vienna boasts of great public transport - from trams to buses, commuterês (local) trains to subways. You can just as easily hail a cab but it can be a little expensive. The tourist areas, palace trails and main squares are best explored on foot. Trams are also great for sightseeing as well as to experience the old world charm. They are usually punctual, with frequency of 5-10 minutes. For cheaper travel, you can purchase the Vienna Card with 72-hours free travel in all public transport, plus added discounts on palace tours, museums, theatres and cafes.